Sunflower
Sunflower, plant of the genus Helianthus of the family Asteraceae, native
primarily to North and South America. The common sunflower is an annual herb with a rough hairy stem 1–4.5 metres
(3–15 feet) high, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves 7.5–30 cm (3–12 inches)
long, and heads of flowers 7.5–15 cm wide in wild specimens and often 30 cm or
more in cultivated types. The disk flowers are brown, yellow, or purple; the
ray flowers are yellow. The oval hairy leaves are arranged in spirals. The
sunflower plant is valuable from an economic as well as from an ornamental
point of view. The leaves are used as fodder, the flowers yield a yellow dye,
and the seeds contain oil and are used for food. The
yellow, sweet oil obtained by compression of the seeds is considered equal to
olive or almond oil for table use. Sunflower oil cake is
used for stock and poultry feeding. The oil is also used in soap and paints and
as a lubricant. The seeds may be eaten dried or roasted. Argentina, Russia, Ukraine,
France, the United States, and China are the leading producers of sunflower seed.
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